Review: Christmas in Idaho by Ray Downing
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“A delightfully detailed Christmas story to treasure year after year.”
This book and audio CD were given to me by the author, Ray Downing, and I’m really glad he did. It’s rare these days to find someone who is willing to go as far as he did to create something so fine.
You all know by now how strange my reading habits can be. Over the years I’ve tried to find some thread that ties my favorite books together and the only thing I can come up with is that I love books that are useful (non-fiction I can read over and over again and get something new each time I do) and lavishly detailed beautiful books (meant for children or adults.)
This book is one of those beautiful and lavish treasures and it’s not aimed specifically at young children. I’d say this is more of a family discussion book. Or a family treasure book. A Christmas tradition book you can discuss with your family and enjoy year after year.
Christmas in Idaho was designed to be a keepsake, not just some picture book you throw on the shelf in your child’s bedroom. I’m not sure if all copies will be made so lavishly because of the production cost, but mine has a ribbon bookmark and color on every page. It has gilded edged pages thicker than any book you’ve ever laid your hands on. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a new book with illustrations as nice as these. Positively stunning illustrations. The snowflakes looked so real that it felt like if you touched them you’d expect to feel something on the page. The hardcover front actually does have the title and the bird raised where you can feel them. (See picture below.)
Mine also came with an audiobook CD in the back. It had a movie-like feel, with a professional male narrator, Christmas music in the background, and sound effects. It was all very nicely done. I don’t think the story was meant specifically for small children because some of the descriptions were a tad lengthy, but my daughter, who is a preteen, really enjoyed reading it along with the audio version. She’s dyslexic and NOT into reading at all right now, but as soon as it was over she asked if she could have it so she could read it every Christmas.
The story is about a snowman named Idaho (because the children that made him used an Idaho potato sack for his vest) and his realization that, like Frostie, he won’t survive to see Spring. Given the theme is a snowman’s death, it is a little sad in places, but it ends really sweet after Idaho has a religious encounter in a church.
I’ve read this book twice so far and here’s what I found about the religious aspects that some of you may be wondering about. There is an angel briefly mentioned in the story that is female. I bring this up because while there are a lot of images of angels being feminine, some Christians, myself included, see angels as being more masculine.
There’s also a stunning illustration of Jesus in the book with bluish eyes. I would imagine Jesus having brown eyes, so that was a bit curious to me but not particularly bothersome. Other than that, I really enjoyed the religious aspects of the story and how they could lead to some good family discussions. Idaho came to Jesus and Jesus gives him the gift of life “forever.”
I just want to close by saying that for all authors and publishers creating Christian books for children over twenty-nine pages long, Christmas in Idaho is the standard you should be aiming to reach. It really is a gem and I’m glad to have a hard copy for myself and my daughter.
You can find Christmas in Idaho in hardback and ebook at Amazon.com.
